I Think I Know You
by In the Name of Merlin
Summary: '"Wait!" Tally cried. She turned to the boy. "I didn't catch your name," she said. He smiled. "I'm Zane."' Set in Pretties. Tally and Zane escaped, but were captured, re-prettified, and erased from each other's lives. Can they remember each other?
1. Chapter 1

"No, Tally, don't go! You'll miss the best part of the bash!" Peris cried out as Tally made her way to the door. "They haven't even brought out the good champagne yet," he said with a pout as they reached the door.

Tally laughed and kissed her best friend on the cheek. "You'll see me tomorrow, silly." She said with a smile. "I'm just not feeling very bubbly right now. I don't want to be the bogus friend who ruins everyone's night."

"You won't ruin the night," Peris said lamely, even though they both knew it was true. Pretties didn't stick around if they were being bogus. They left the bash and let everyone else stay bubbly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Peris. I'll be fine." She said with a smile. He finally nodded and let her go.

As she walked into her room, Tally got a ping from Peris. He was bubbly as ever, telling her that she was already missed. She knew that leaving was smart. No one likes a bogus friend.

The ping ended with "best friends forever!" and she smiled. Tally was finally pretty, and she could spend the rest of her life with Peris and all their new pretty friends here in New Prettyville. _This _is what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She smiled again, and let the happy-making thoughts lead her off to sleep.

When she woke up the next morning, she was aware of two things. Her pounding headache, and that someone was at the door. She checked with the building and saw that it was none other than Peris. She made a finger gesture and the door slid open.

"Morning, Tally-wa." He said in a gentle voice. He held out a cup to her, and she took a sip. The Bloody Mary slid down her throat and she could almost _feel_ her headache lessening.

"_Thank you_," she said gratefully. She smiled up at him and he smiled back, looking into her eyes. She let all of her happy-making thoughts from the night before take over her mind, and laughed in delight when Peris did a double take.

"Tally! Your eyes!" He exclaimed. She'd just gotten the surge, but had forgotten to tell him.

"Bubbly, huh?" She asked. "They change with my mood!" Tally absolutely loved her new eyes. With every mood she went through, her brown eyes would tint with a color that matched them. Green was happy, pink was thrilled, blue was bubbly, things like that.

"_Very_ bubbly," he agreed.

"You should get it too! We can match." She said with a smile. His eyes lit up at the thought, and Tally could already picture them tinting slightly green with delight.

"Speaking of bubbly," Peris gushed, "guess who's going to a bash at _Valentino_ tonight?"

Tally knew her eyes flashed a bluish-green color as surprise washed through her. "_Peris._ Did you get into a _Valentino_ bash?"

"No, Tally-wa. _We_ got into a Valentino bash." He said with a grin. Tally's eyes tinted a dark blue as the information and the joy made its way through her brain.

"We're going to a Valentino bash?" She exclaimed. "What's the dress code? I need to get an outfit _right now._" She jumped off her bed and ran to the wall where she could request the perfect outfit for the bash.

Peris ordered breakfast for the two of them and told Tally the theme. "It's masquerade! Isn't that bubbly?"

"What color mask are you wearing?" She asked as she flipped through the mask section.

"I was thinking golden, but so many people are going to wear that. It's bogus." Peris said. There was a ping from the door and he got up to let the breakfast drone in. Tally stepped away from the wall to pick up a muffin and a Bloody off of the platter and considered what Peris said.

"What about silver?" She asked, thinking of a pretty silver mask she saw on the wall a few seconds ago. She could find an eye color to match that. Maybe the blue-green of flirtatious. That wouldn't be too difficult to keep up throughout the night…

"…Or what about animal print? I suppose that wouldn't be too pretty-making, though." Peris said. Tally realized that she had zoned out for most of what he was saying. That was bogus.

"What about matching colors with some black lace around them?" Tally asked. Peris smiled into the bite of his muffin he had just taken.

"That could be pretty-making," he said. "What color were you thinking?"

"What about dark blue?" Tally asked. "You could go get the eye surge and they could match our eyes!" She said, getting excited. Peris smiled.

"How long does it take?" He asked.

"Not long, maybe only ten minutes or so. It's not like you'll feel it or anything," She said excitedly. She ran to the wall and got a simple outfit to wear during the day, and changed in the bathroom. Her headache was long gone, and her spirits were lifted.

When she got back into the room, she found Peris waiting for her by the front door, finishing his muffin. She remembered to grab two calorie purgers before they left to go to the hospital. Peris smiled as she handed him his purger, and they made their way into the slightly chilled spring day.

They got to the hospital a few minutes later, the slidewalks depositing them neatly in front of the building. As they headed up to the surge floor, Tally could barely contain her excitement. She was starting a trend! Bubbliness overtook her and she was sure that her eyes were tinted a deep blue at the moment.

Once they got to the correct floor, Tally was instructed to wait in the lobby. Peris made his way back to the room where they do the surges and she was left alone. She decided to check the news feeds for anything major happening right now, but wasn't surprised when she found nothing. The city didn't really ever have much going on, besides killer bashes, of course.

She was so engrossed in the news feeds that she didn't notice other people entering the lobby. She did notice, however, when a boy sat himself down next to her. She jumped in surprise, and he chuckled.

She looked over at him, her eyes flashing from green to orange with annoyance. He stopped mid-chuckle, captivated by her eyes.

"Your eyes are so pretty-making!" He exclaimed. The orange faded and was replaced with purple. "Oh!" He let out at the change. "They match your mood?" He guessed.

Now Tally let out a chuckle. "They do!" The purple faded back to green as she relaxed. His presence was comforting, somehow.

"I like them a lot," he continued. "Did you come up with that yourself?" He asked.

"I did," she said with a smile. "My friend is getting them right now." She admitted. "What's your friend in for?" She asked, curious.

"She's in for her eyes, too." He said. "She won't tell me what she's getting done though. 'It's a surprise' she says." He shrugged.

"Well, I hope it doesn't take too long." Tally said, the bubbliness she felt around other pretties settling over her. "I want to see them!" He smiled.

Just then, the door opened, and there was Peris, his eyes tinged with green. "Tally!" He said with a smile. "It worked!"

"Of course it did, silly." She said with a laugh. She turned to the boy next to her. "This is my friend, Peris."

"Nice to meet you." The boy said. "I'm – " Just then the door opened and a girl walked out. She batted her eyes at the boy.

"Okay, are you ready?" She asked. He smiled and nodded excitedly. "Are you _sure_?"

"Yes! I want to see them!" He chuckled.

"Okay, okay," she said. She leaned in close to him, and he looked into her eyes. Tally and Peris looked, too.

"Is that a clock?" Tally asked before she could stop herself. The girl nodded enthusiastically.

"_But_…" She trailed off.

"They're backwards!" The boy next to Tally exclaimed. The girl nodded again.

"How pretty-making," Peris said. She turned to him and smiled.

"Thanks!" She said. She stuck out her hand. "I'm Shay."

"Nice to meet you, Shay-la!" Peris said with a smile. "I'm Peris, and this is Tally." He said, gesturing to Tally.

"Hi!" Tally said. "Your eyes are really bubbly."

Shay smiled. Tally's eyes had turned purple with interest at seeing Shay's eyes, but they shifted back to green after meeting Shay.

"Oh!" Shay exclaimed. "Yours are too!" Tally smiled. Silence fell over the group, and Shay turned to the boy and asked if he was ready to go. He nodded, and they made their way to the door.

"Wait!" Tally called out. They stopped. "I didn't catch your name," Tally said to the boy.

He smiled. "I'm Zane."


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: I couldn't fit it in the description, but everyone that Tally and Zane knew also had their minds altered and now they only know either Tally or Zane. Shay only knows Zane and Peris only knows Tally, etc._

Tally couldn't help but smile as she thought of the encounter with Shay and Zane from earlier. After she'd asked Zane for his name, they decided to go out and all have a proper breakfast together.

The four of them went to Shay's room, which happened to be in the same building as Tally's, and ordered a large breakfast and Mimosas and Bloody Marys. They then spent the next few hours acting as if they had been life long friends, talking and laughing with each other, poking fun at one another, truly being bubbly.

"So are you guys going to the Valentino bash tonight?" Shay asked, curiously. Tally and Peris smiled.

"Yes," Peris gushed. "One of my friends _just_ moved in and put us on the list." He puffed up his chest, proud that he had connections. Tally chuckled, and her eyes met Zane's. He offered her a small smile, which she returned happily. She had no idea what color her eyes were at the moment, but she decided she didn't really care.

"We just got the pings that we got in," Shay said. She turned to Tally. "Do you know what you're wearing?" She asked.

"Something dark blue," she answered. "It will match our eyes, once we're in the right mood." She said with a smile.

Shay chuckled. "At least you have an idea! This one," she said as she nudged Zane in the shoulder, "has been _no_ help at all."

Zane rolled his eyes, but his smile let them know that he wasn't really annoyed. His eyes caught Tally's again, and his smile grew. She looked away, and caught Shay's stare, which was the opposite of Zane's. Where his was warm and inviting, Shay's was cold and questioning. Tally knew that they were probably _together_, but she wasn't really interested in Zane that way, so she didn't know what Shay's problem was.

She offered a smile, hoping that Shay would see that, and she must have because in no time, she offered one back.

"…Stick me in something bogus, no doubt." Zane was saying to Peris. Tally had missed most of their conversation, but she put two and two together and figured he was poking fun at Shay.

"Our outfits will _not_ be bogus, Zane." Shay said, somewhat annoyed. He grinned at her, and she caved and grinned back.

"If you want to come look for something to wear later, Shay-la, you can always come to my room," Tally said, hoping to make peace with her new friend. Shay turned and smiled at Tally, and she knew all was forgiven from their unspoken misunderstanding from before.

"That would be perfect!" She said with a smile. Then she focused on her new eye-clocks, which only she could use to tell time, and counted how many hours we had left until the bash started.

"We only have six hours left until the bash!" She cried out. "We need to go now!" She said. She was right. Six hours was hardly enough time to plan out the _perfect_ outfit. And this wasn't even a regular bash where no one would mind if outfits were slightly bogus. This was a _Valentino_ bash. Their outfits had to be the bubbliest things in the room.

The two girls jumped up, and Peris and Zane laughed at them. Shay threw a pillow at Peris and hit him in the chest.

"You don't understand the pressure we're under, Peris." Tally said. "We _have _to be bubblier than ever."

"You _will_ be, Tally-wa." Peris said. "Just find something in the color we want, and you'll make it bubbly." Tally's eyes turned slightly pink at the compliment.

"Why don't we all go down there, and Peris and I can help out?" Zane suggested.

"Great idea, Zane-la!" Tally responded. Shay nodded, and the four of them left the room to go find the perfect outfits.

Now they were all in Tally's room, Shay and Tally trying on outfits, Peris and Zane sitting on the bed giving them their opinions, and the four of them sharing a bottle of champagne.

Shay was in her fifth dress, which was a pretty red gown that flowed down her frame perfectly, and draped down in the back, exposing Shay's back. The mask she had on with it was the silver one Tally had been looking at earlier.

"Shay-la," Tally said quietly. "I think this is the outfit." She said with a smile. Shay grinned and twirled around, earning whistles from the boys.

She giggled, the champagne already taking effect on her, and agreed. "Zane-la," she said, adapting Peris and Tally's nicknames, "Can you find something to match this?"

He looked at the outfit up and down, before nodding. "I know exactly what to wear." He said with a smile as he walked over to the wall and told it what he wanted. The wall dispensed his clothes and he went into the bathroom to change.

"Peris," Tally groaned. "What am I going to wear?" She pouted, and took a sip of her champagne to calm her nerves.

He chuckled at her and walked over to the wall. He described a dress to it and when it popped out, he handed it to Tally and told her to change. She headed over to the bathroom as he turned to the wall to describe an outfit for himself.

She waited outside of the bathroom for Zane to emerge, and when he did, he looked dazzling. He was wearing a silky looking suit, with a tie that matched Shay's dress perfectly. The stripes on the suit were also the same color. His face broke into a smile when he saw Tally. He did a little turn, and asked, "What do you think?"

She smiled. "Very bubbly, Zane-la."

"Your eyes are purple, Tally-wa. What does that mean?" He asked, stepping closer to her to get a better look at her eyes.

"I'm intrigued." She said without thinking. His brow furrowed and she wished she didn't blurt that out. She blamed the champagne.

"I intrigue you?" Zane asked.

"A little," she admitted with a sly smile.

"I don't hear you trying on your dress, Tally-wa!" Peris cried from the other side of the room with a laugh. Shay laughed with him, and they started talking about something that Tally couldn't hear. She rolled her eyes, and shot an apologetic glance to Zane as she made her way into the bathroom.

As she put on the dress, she made sure to announce her actions very loudly so that Peris would be able to hear. She giggled the whole time, and she could hear Peris and Shay giggling through the door. _Maybe this should be our last bottle before the bash_, she thought.

She stepped out of the bathroom and walked over to where her friends were sitting. Peris and Shay's laughter trailed off as she walked out.

"Tally-wa," Shay said. "You look _so _pretty!" Tally mimicked Shay's movement from earlier, and twirled around to show off her dress. It was dark blue and hung off of one shoulder, with little flecks of silver embedded into it.

Peris walked over to her and handed her a dark blue mask that matched her dress perfectly and she put it on before looking at herself in the mirror. The girl staring back at her was beautiful. Her hair fell down her back in gentle waves, and her bluish eyes matched her mask and dress flawlessly. Peris came to stand next to her, and she realized how bubbly they looked next to each other. She smiled at his reflection and he smiled at hers.

"We should probably head over to Valentino," Shay said. "The bash started about an hour ago, so it should be at its peak right about now."

"Sounds good to me," Peris agreed. Tally and Zane shrugged and the four of them made their way to the door, everyone but Tally slipping their masks on.

As they headed over to the bash, Tally couldn't help but wonder why she felt intrigued by Zane. She'd never met him before, but she was as comfortable around him as she was with Peris. She shrugged the feeling off, deciding that Zane just made her feel comfortable because he was that kind of person.


	3. Chapter 3

Arriving at the party, Tally was excited to see that she and Shay were getting stared at a lot. She smiled and let her eyes slide over the crowd. There were, as Peris predicted, _loads_ of golden masks around them. Tally was pleased to see that her and her friends were standing out.

Other pretties kept coming up to the four of them, complimenting their outfits, masks, and once they were close enough, their eyes as well.

Shay saw some of her friends and made her way over to them to say hello. Peris, Tally and Zane made their way to the nearest butler drone, and picked up flutes of champagne. Tally could see Fausto and Ho over in the corner, and she smiled, excited that more of her friends got into the bash as well.

"Peris, let's go say hi to Fausto and Ho-la!" She said as she waved to their friends. She pulled on his wrist and made her way through the crowd, dragging him behind her, laughing at his weak protests.

"Ouch, Tally-wa." He said, rubbing his wrist teasingly once they came to a stop in front of their friends. "You've got such a strong grip!" He said with a wink.

She laughed and turned to Ho and Fausto.

"Tally! Your eyes are so pretty-making," Ho said after they hugged hello.

"Thanks, Ho-la! Peris just got them too," She said with a smile. She turned to hug Fausto and let him see her eyes as well.

"They change with our moods!" Peris exclaimed happily.

"Bubbly," Fausto said with a grin. "Oh!" He said suddenly, noticing Zane standing behind Tally. "I'm Fausto," he said with another grin, extending his hand.

"Zane," he said politely as they shook hands.

"How do you know Tally and Peris?" Fausto asked curiously.

"I just met them today, actually." Zane said with a small laugh. "At the surge floor. My friend, Shay," he said, pointing Shay out from across the room. She was dancing with her friends, an empty champagne flute in her hand. "She just got an eye surge, too. I met Tally-wa waiting for her in the lobby." He finished with a smile.

"The rest was history!" Peris said happily.

Ho and Zane shook hands, and then they talked about everyone's outfits and whose was the best. Tally blushed when they unanimously agreed that she and Shay looked the bubbliest.

"I'm going to go get more champagne," Zane said after a slight lull in the conversation. "Anyone care to join me?"

"I'll go with you, Zane-la." Tally said with a smile. "Everyone else is such slow drinkers," she teased.

"Only in the beginning, Tally-wa." Ho said with a wink. She laughed and waved him off. She and Zane turned and went to find a butler drone, but kept coming across ones returning to the kitchen to refill their flutes.

After the third empty drone, Tally groaned. "It's like they _want_ this bash to be bogus," she pouted.

"Wait, one's going to the balcony right now!" Zane exclaimed. He grabbed Tally's hand and led her through the crowd as he followed the drone. She laughed as he sped up the closer they got to the drone.

They finally caught up to it, just before it reached the balcony. Tally's eyes lit up in delight as she saw the last two flutes available. She and Zane took them happily, and drained half of their glasses easily.

Tally turned to face the city and smiled at the view. New Prettyville was probably the prettiest thing she'd ever seen.

"I don't think I could ever get tired of this view," she said, voicing her thoughts.

"It _is_ very pretty-making, isn't it?" Zane asked, moving closer to Tally. She was extremely hyperaware of this movement, but did nothing to put distance between herself and Zane.

"Zane-la," she said in a tone that was warning him to not try anything.

"Tally-wa," he said in the same tone, a glimmer in his eye.

"I'm serious, Zane. I saw the look Shay-la gave me after you kept smiling at me. Very unhappy-making." Tally said, still unaware of the exact state of her friendship with Shay.

"Shay doesn't have a claim on me, Tally." Zane said, stepping closer to Tally again.

"What do you mean?" She asked, her brow furrowed.

"We're not _together_. She wants us to be, but I've told her time and time again that I only see her as a friend." He shrugged.

"Oh." Was all Tally could get out. She was too focused on keeping her emotions in check. Suddenly, she was cursing her new eye surge. As pretty-making as it was, it had its disadvantages, she realized.

"What are you thinking, Tally-wa?" Zane asked, now standing almost immediately next to Tally.

She wasn't sure what she was thinking at that moment, so she sipped her champagne to avoid answering the question.

She thought about the information she'd just received. Yes, Tally was attracted to Zane. It wasn't just because he was pretty, either. Around Zane she felt…happy. Yes, Peris made her happy, but not in the same way. Shay was obviously attracted to Zane, too. And she had a much longer relationship with him than Tally. It didn't seem fair to swoop in and take him away from her. _But_, Zane said that he told Shay that he didn't want anything other than friendship with her. Was it really unfair of Tally to give him what he wanted?

"Tally?" Zane asked. She had been silent for a few minutes, she realized. She drained the rest of her champagne, and shot him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Zane-la. I was thinking," she said quietly. He nodded.

"I thought so." He said. "What about?"

"You," She responded immediately. His face broke into the biggest grin Tally had ever seen and she blushed.

"And…?" He asked, dragged out the 'a,' sounding like an impatient littlie. Now it was Tally's turn to grin.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the door to the balcony burst open and a drunk Shay and Peris stumbled over to Tally and Zane. Fausto and Ho were right behind them, laughing at something they'd just witnessed.

"Tally-wa!" Shay exclaimed. "Here you are!" She continued with a smile. "And Zane-la's here too! How happy-making!" Tally chuckled at her friend's actions. She was relieved that she didn't have to answer Zane just yet.

"Let's go dance, Zane-la!" Shay said, oblivious to the fact that he was still staring at Tally. He was upset that they'd been interrupted.

"Tally-wa," Ho cooed. "Who's the slow drinker now?" He asked with a grin.

"Still you, Ho-la." She said with a teasing grin, completely willing to step away from the conversation she and Zane had almost had. "I bet you've only had two glasses of champagne tonight."

"Four!" He exclaimed. "I'm bubbly enough to prove it," he laughed. Tally covered her mouth to hide her laughter, but failed.

"Okay, Ho-la. You're winning _now_. We'll see who's winning in an hour." She said with a grin.

"Obviously it's going to be me," Fausto cut in. Shay laughed.

"You're on, Fausto." She smiled. "I'm _so_ going to win."

"Well we'd better get going," Tally said. "To be the least slow drinker, we need more champagne." She said with a laugh.

They all began to make their way inside, but Zane stopped Tally. "We're going to finish that talk later, Tally-wa." He quietly said. Then he grinned and spoke louder. "I'm _so_ going to win, Shay-la!" He teased his friend ahead of them.

"You wish!" Could be heard from somewhere in the house. Tally smiled and tried to ignore Zane for the moment. She just wanted to have a bubbly time at Valentino.

The six friends spent the rest of the night trying to out-drink one another without getting sick. It wasn't until a few hours later that they'd started to show signs of slowing down.

"Okay, I'm starting to feel kind of bogus," Fausto said as they sat down on a couch in the middle of the main party room.

"I know how you feel," Tally mumbled. "I think it's time to go home."

Shay, who was still pretty bubbly, came into the conversation. "Sleepover!" She squealed.

Ho was the second bubbliest out of all of them, and he quickly agreed. "We can go to my room if you want. I can turn the whole floor into a bed," he grinned.

"Ooh, how bubbly!" Shay chirped.

"Any bed sounds good to me," Peris muttered. Zane and Tally nodded in agreement and the six friends made their way to the door to leave the bash.

Zane stayed towards the back of the group and caught Tally's forearm, keeping her next to him. She gave him a questioning glance and he smiled gently.

"I didn't want to walk alone with all of your friends," he admitted. Tally smiled.

"They're your friends now, too, Zane-la."

"I know, but I just don't feel as comfortable around them as I do when I'm with you."

Tally blushed again. She knew what he meant; she felt more comfortable around Zane than even her own friends. For the second time that night, she tried to shrug off the feeling.

For the second time that night, she failed.


	4. Chapter 4

They arrived at Ho's room and he made them wait outside the door. With a finger gesture, the floor at the corner of the room began to slide towards the doorway. Underneath it was bedding. Ho hadn't been kidding. He really could turn the entire floor of his room into a bed.

Nothing in the world had ever been so happy-making to Tally. As soon as the floor was done retracting, she ran into the room and jumped on to the bed. Shay followed suit and soon the two of them were rolling around on the floor laughing their heads off.

Peris jumped next to them, causing the two girls to shriek. He laughed a hearty laugh, and then began tickling them mercilessly, causing them to laugh even harder.

"Okay, I give! Peris, please stop," Tally choked out through her laughter.

"Not until you say it, Tally-wa," he cooed.

"No way." She said, her face set.

"You can't fool me, Tally." He said, smiling. "I know you're having fun."

"But…how?" She asked, confused. Peris smiled again and brought his hand to her face.

"Your eyes, Tally-wa. They're green as ever."

_Duh._ She thought. _I'm an idiot._

"You still have to say it, Tally. And then Shay-la." He said, not letting either of them get up.

"Peris is the _greatest_ friend in all of New Pretty Town, and I'm _ever_ so lucky he came into my life," Tally muttered.

Shay barked out a laugh, and forced herself to repeat the statement.

"Aww, thanks, ladies. I had no idea you felt that way." Peris said, letting them get up. Zane, Ho, and Fausto were all laughing from the doorway, barely able to stand up.

"Can we go to bed now?" Tally asked, irritated.

Ho chuckled. "Sure. You can get some sleep clothes from the wall, and I've got plenty of toothpaste pills."

Shay and Tally each requested simple sleep wear from the wall and went into the bathroom to change.

"I'm so glad we met you, Tally-wa," Shay said with a smile as they changed. "I've never seen Zane so comfortable around other people before. It was a nice change."

"Are you sure, Shay-la? I got the feeling you didn't like me very much earlier." Tally admitted. Shay finished changing and gave Tally a hug.

"I just didn't know your motives with Zane-la. I'm pretty protective of him," she said with a slight grin. "But I can trust you, can't I, Tally-wa?"

"Of course you can, Shay-la. Best friends forever," She said with a smile. Shay smiled back.

"Good. Now let's go recycle these and _go to bed_. I'm exhausted."

When they exited the bathroom, the guys had all splayed out around the room. Zane looked expectantly at Tally, and she knew he wanted to talk to her. She decided he could wait until morning when she didn't feel so bogus. She smiled at him and mouthed the word, _later_. He seemed to understand because he smiled back, and promptly fell asleep. Tally smiled to herself, and picked a spot on the floor. She lay her head down and fell asleep within a minute.

When Tally woke up the next morning, she was surprised to find that she was not hungover. She looked around the room and saw that Zane was not where he was last night. She got up to look for him when the door to the bathroom opened. Zane came out, looking just as surprised to see Tally as she was to see him.

"Want to go get breakfast?" He whispered. She paused, considering what this would lead to, but then decided that it was better to get it out of the way now, rather than putting it off and living in a constant state of distress. She nodded.

"Give me a few minutes to get dressed?" She asked. He nodded and she tiptoed over to the wall to request a simple outfit for the day. She ended up with a black long sleeved shirt and some simple jeans. She topped off the outfit with some black slip on shoes and a scarf. When she was done, she changed in the bathroom and quickly ran a brush through her hair. She looked over herself in the mirror before leaving and smiled. From what they taught in Ugly school, Tally knew that the Rusties used to put things on their faces to appear Pretty. She didn't need that now – no one did.

With a final smile, she left the bathroom, pausing only to recycle the clothes that she slept in. She made her way to the door where Zane was waiting. She sent a quick ping to Peris, letting him know where she would be, and they made their way outside.

As they walked, Tally was grateful that she thought to put on a long sleeved shirt. Had she been wearing anything else, she surely would have been freezing. Still, she wrapped her arms around her waist, trying to stay as warm as possible.

They walked through New Pretty Town, until Zane found a bench underneath a warming lamp. Tally was grateful for the heat that it radiated.

"So what did you want to talk about, Zane-la?" She asked as she sipped her tea. He shot her a look that said 'you obviously know what I want to talk about,' but he answered her anyway.

"I told you we'd finish that conversation, Tally-wa. And I meant it." He said seriously. "I like you." He said simply. "I feel this…connection to you. Something I don't feel with anyone else, not even Shay-la."

"I… I know what you mean." Tally admitted softly. "I feel the same way."

Zane's face lit up and he scooted closer to Tally. "Why didn't you say anything?" He asked.

"I thought I would sound bogus," Tally said. "I'd just met you. I didn't want you to think I was weird." Zane let out a small laugh.

"I could never think you were weird, Tally."

_Tally. _Not Tally_-wa_, just Tally. It was weird not hearing her Pretty nickname, but she liked it.

"I could never think you were weird either, Zane." She said, trying out his plain name. It sounded a little odd, but special. Sort of like Zane. She liked it.

He smiled down at her and she smiled back at him. "Want to get out of here?" He asked, standing up. He held out his hand for her to take, and she accepted it happily.

"Where to?" She asked as he intertwined their fingers together.

"I was thinking the hover rink," he replied. "I think they just reopened it."

"Ooh, that sounds bubbly." Tally agreed with a grin.

As they walked to the hover rink, Tally smiled. She hadn't expected their conversation to go so well. She decided it was because of the connection she and Zane immediately had.

They finally got to the hover rink and rented their skates. As they were tying their laces, two other young Pretties skated over to them.

"You're Tally Youngblood, aren't you?" She asked. Tally nodded, confused. "I thought I recognized you!"

"Umm…what are you talking about?" Tally asked.

"From when the rink fell? Wasn't that you on the feeds?" The young Pretty asked.

"I was there when it happened, yeah, but I don't remember being on the feeds about it…" Tally said, trailing off. "Are you sure I wasn't just in the background?"

The Pretty's brow knit in confusion. "I _thought_ it was you. Maybe I was wrong." She shrugged. The boy she was with grinned.

"Sorry for being so bogus, Tally." He said. She smiled now.

"Don't worry about it! Have fun," She said with a wave as they skated away. She turned to Zane. "Ready to go?"

"You were there when the rink fell?" He asked, ignoring her question.

"Yeah, I was with Peris and some other friends." She shrugged. "Why?"

"_I_ was there when it fell." He said. "I think I'd know if _you _were there. Don't you think that's weird?"

"Not really. There where loads of people when it happened." She said, brushing it off. "Come on, Zane. Don't be so bogus! Let's go skate!" She grinned and took off. She could hear Zane's laughter as he finished tying his laces. She skated to the middle of the rink and waited for Zane. He was making his way around the outside of the rink.

"Look out!" He cried, as he skated through a crowd of Pretties. He jumped up and landed, hard, close to Tally in the middle of the rink. She looked down, expecting the ice to give way to his skates.

_That's weird._ She thought to herself. _Why aren't we falling?_ _The plan should have worked. _As soon as she finished the thought, a crippling pain took over her mind. The only thing she could focus on was making it stop. She cried out in pain and collapsed. She pressed her hands to her head as hard as she could to try and make the pain in her head go away.

"Tally!" Zane cried out. He skated over to her and held her in his arms. "Somebody help!" He yelled out again. He looked down at the girl in his arms, scared out of his mind. _Why is this happening?_ He kept thinking. _Why her? Why now?_

The wardens made their way over to the pair of Pretties in the middle of the rink. They tried to take Tally out of Zane's arms, but when he didn't move, they took him with them.

"What's wrong with her? Is she okay? Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Zane fired off question after question, getting more and more frustrated when they weren't answered. Finally, one of the wardens stuck him with something, and he passed out.

When Zane came to, the first thing he noticed was Tally, sitting on his bed. They were back in his room and she had been crying recently.

"Zane!" She gasped when she saw his eyes open. She leaned in for a gentle hug, careful to not hurt him. "Are you okay? The last thing I remember is my head hurting and then the wardens came to take me to the hospital. The next thing I know, I woke up here and you were out cold." She rushed out. "Very nervous-making." She added with a weak laugh, trying to hide just how afraid she actually had been.

"Am _I_ okay? Tally, are _you_ okay?" Zane asked, hugging her back with fierce strength. "One second you were fine, and the next, you were on the ground screaming in pain." He said with a frown.

"I don't know what it was," She admitted. "Peris doesn't either. I asked him what he thought it could have been, but he had no idea."

"I was so scared, Tally. I didn't know if you'd be okay or not." Zane said. He looked down, but Tally put her hand under his chin and made him face her.

"Hey," She said softly. "I'm fine." She smiled. "The doctors said I was dehydrated. They put a bunch of water in my system and told me to take it easy for the next few days." Zane looked at her as if he didn't believe her. He stayed quiet for a few minutes.

"I guess that makes sense." He finally agreed. "One question though." He said. Tally looked at him expectantly. "You looked so confused right before you collapsed. What were you thinking about?" He asked.

Tally's brow knit in confusion. "The rink should have fallen." She muttered. Subconsciously, she began rubbing the back of her neck.

"What was that?" Zane asked.

"The rink." Tally responded, louder this time. "It should have fallen when you landed." She said, rubbing her neck a little harder to alleviate the pressure that was building up.

"You mean like when it did the first time?" Zane asked. "How would you know how the rink fell? You weren't a part of that." He trailed off.

"_You_ made the rink fall?" Tally asked in disbelief. Zane shrugged, looking away. A smile was forming on his face. "Zane-la!" She scolded. After a moment of silence, she asked, "How?"

"Alcohol," he answered instantly.

"It evaporates faster than water," Tally said.

"It does…how did you know that?" Zane asked.

"I…I don't know," She admitted. The pain in her neck was growing and she kept rubbing it to try and help make it stop. Zane finally seemed to notice.

"What are you doing?" He asked. Tally stopped rubbing her neck, just now noticing that she was doing it in the first place.

"I don't know," She repeated. She began to tear up. "What's happening to me, Zane?"

He pulled her in for a tight hug. "Don't worry about it, Tally. We'll figure everything out." He said comfortingly.

"What, just like when you had those crippling headaches and wouldn't let me take you to the doctors?" She snapped.

"What?" Zane asked, pulling away suddenly. Tally opened her mouth to repeat what she was saying, but the only thing that came out was a groan of pain. Her hands went to the sides of her head, as she tried once again to stop the pain.

"Tally!" He cried out. "Think of something else, Tally! What did you wear to the Valentino bash yesterday?" He asked, saying of the first thing that came to mind. Tally's hands lessened their pressure on her head.

"What did you wear to the bash, Tally?" Zane asked again, a bit calmer than before. She pulled her hands off of her head.

"The bash?" She asked groggily.

"The bash at Valentino." Zane said. "It was masquerade themed, remember?" He asked, quietly.

"My dress…was blue." She said slowly. Zane nodded. "It matched my eyes." She said.

"That's right. And then after that, we went to Ho's room. We slept on his floor." He said.

"And then we went…s-s-s-skating…ohh, my head." Tally said as her mind tried to comprehend her activities again. Her hands moved towards her head again.

"No, Tally. We had breakfast. Just you and me." Zane said, trying to drag her away from painful memories.

"It hurts, Zane-la." Tally choked out. "Make it stop," She begged.

Zane's heart broke in two as he sat there, helpless to help this girl who brought such joy to his life.

"Remember breakfast, Tally?" He asked as he grabbed one of her hands. "We talked about _us_? Remember how that ended?" He laced their fingers together. _Stay with me, Tally._ He thought.

"Zane," She whispered in pain. "Please. Do something."

He couldn't think of anything to do that would help her. Panicked, he pulled her face towards his and kissed her. It seemed like a good thing to distract her from thinking.

It seemed to be working, because Tally soon responded to the kiss. As soon as she stopped shaking with pain, Zane pulled away.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking into her eyes. They seemed clouded with confusion.

"Zane? How did we get here?" Tally asked. "We were in the balloon and you…you said…and then you jumped…and I…I…" She shook her head. "I'm fine, Zane-la." She said with a smile.

He looked at her with confusion. _Balloon?_ "Tally?" He asked, trying to comprehend the situation.

"Zane?" She repeated, amused.

"What balloon?" He asked, trying to keep her focused.

"Ooh, balloons! That sounds bubbly." She said. "Especially if you're there…" she trailed off, smiling.

_Stay focused, Tally. This is imp- if I'm there?_ He thought. _She wants me there?_

"You want to go ballooning together, Tally-wa?" He asked, a smile growing on his face. She scooted closer.

"Only if Shay-la won't mind."

"I told you, Tally. She doesn't have a claim on me." He said, his face inching closer to hers.

"Good," Tally whispered. "Because I do," she said just before their lips met.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a week since Tally and Zane got together, and they were nearly inseparable. If Shay wanted to go to a bash and invited Zane, Tally would be there as well. If Peris wanted to go have a picnic with Tally, Zane was, by extension, invited.

At first, Shay and Peris didn't really mind, but after a few days, they started spending more time with each other to cope with the new closeness of their friends.

It was pretty early in the morning when Peris showed up at her door one day.

"Tally-wa!" He exclaimed before pulling her into a hug. He glanced around the room. "Where's Zane-la?" He asked, not used to seeing her friend without her new beau.

She smiled. "He's at home. I told him I wanted to spend the day with you!" Peris' smile grew.

"How bubbly! Shay-la and I were going to the hover rink today. You should come with us! It's been ages since we've hung out. Very unhappy-making," He said with a pout.

"The hover rink?" Tally asked. "I don't think so, Peris. Not me, anyway." She said sadly.

"Why not?" He pouted. "We never do anything anymore, Tally."

"I know, I'm sorry." She said, pulling him into a hug. "It's just…last time I was there I got this huge headache and I passed out and then Zane wouldn't wake up and – "

"That's bogus, Tally, and you know it." Peris said, cutting her off. The comment threw her off. Pretties didn't talk to each other like that; it was so _Ugly_. Peris realized what he'd said hurt Tally and he apologized.

"I'm sorry, Peris. I just can't go." She said after she'd accepted his apology.

"I understand, Tally-wa. I guess you'll be hanging out with Zane-la today after all."

"Maybe I'll see what Fausto and Ho-la are up to." She said, although it came out as more of a question.

"No can do, Tally-wa," Peris said sadly. "They're coming to the rink with us."

Tally frowned. "This is bogus." She said. Suddenly her eyes lit up, tinting a pinkish-red with delight. "We can go ballooning tonight!"

Peris' own eyes tinted a bluish-green color in surprise. "Like the Hot-Airs?" He giggled.

"Come on, Peris!" Tally begged. "It'll be bubbly! Plus, you said so yourself we haven't hung out in _ages_."

"Alright, Tally-wa. Ballooning tonight," He agreed with a smile. "Oops, a ping from Shay-la." He read the ping quickly, responded, and turned back to Tally. "I'm late," He said with a sly grin. "See you tonight Tally-wa!"

He hugged her quickly, and she kissed his cheek softly. "Best friends forever?" She asked.

"Forever," he replied. She smiled at him, and with that he left.

She went over to her wall and requested a simple outfit to wear over to Zane's building. As she dressed, she sent him a quick ping explaining the situation and that she would be over soon. He responded quickly, excited that they would be spending the day together after all.

Soon after she was dressed, she left her room, still chewing her toothpaste pill. The slidewalks took her directly to Zane's building, taking only a few minutes to arrive.

Once she was outside his door, she sent him a quick ping letting him know she was there. When he didn't answer right away, she checked with the building to see where he was. It confirmed that he was in his room. Panic began to seep through Tally's mind, conjuring up only dark thoughts.

"Zane?" She asked loudly, trying to talk through the door. "It's Tally, open up." The door stayed shut. "Zane-la!" She said a little louder. "This isn't funny!"

She waited for the door to slide open. It still remained closed. "This isn't funny, Zane!" She said once more. She softly kicked the door in frustration. "I'm going home."

She turned to leave, when she finally heard the door slide open. She paused, but didn't turn to face Zane.

"Tally," he whispered painfully. "Help me…please."

She turned around so fast that she was a little dizzy from the motion. She ran into Zane's room and let the door shut behind her. "Zane? What's wrong?" She asked, worried. She was no longer angry, just concerned for her boyfriend.

"My head," He managed to get out. He let out a cry of pain and placed his hands on either side of his head, trying to alleviate the pressure coming from within. Tally frowned. This had been happening to the pair of them quite a bit for the past week, starting with Tally on the hover rink. The doctors had brushed it off as dehydration, but it continued to happen, no matter how much water she drank.

She crossed the room to Zane, and sat next to him on the bed. "Think happy-making things, Zane-la," she said gently, trying to not cause him any extra pain. "Remember the first time you came to New Pretty Town? Remember the first time you requested something from the wall? Or the first bash you went to?" She asked.

Zane's hands let up on his head a little bit. Tally continued. "Remember when you saw your face for the first time as a Pretty?"

He stayed hunched over for a few minutes, but Tally heard his breathing even out. The pain was going away. Finally he looked up and smiled weakly at Tally. She handed him a glass of water and waited until he was done with it to speak.

"What were you thinking about?" She asked. They'd figured out a few days ago that memories – whether real or not – were what triggered the pain.

"You," he said with a frown. "Only it wasn't real. There was no way it could have been." He muttered the last part to himself.

"Tell me about it," she said softly, while rubbing his back.

"We were climbing the tower on top of Valentino," Zane said. "But that's impossible. There's minders up and everything."

"Yeah, because of us," Tally retorted quickly. Zane's eyes snapped to her face and her eyes widened in shock. She felt the familiar prickle of pain begin to creep its way up her neck.

"Tally, I know it hurts, or is about to, but focus. _Please._ I think something is wrong with our heads. We have to figure this out," Zane rushed out. Tally nodded.

"We climbed the tower, Zane. Looking for something…looking for…" She trailed off as the pain grew. She rattled her brain for the answer, begging her mind to produce the memory fully. "A key!" She exclaimed. "But I…fell?…No, I'm the one who got the key…" The pain increased the longer she remembered. "I can't, Zane." She said. "It hurts."

"A few more seconds, Tally. You can do it, I know you can." He said, grabbing her hands. "Why was the key important? What was it to?"

"Valentino…" She trailed off, the pain finally taking over her mind. She tried to pull her hands from Zane's grip to press them against her head in vain, but he wouldn't release them. Instead he pulled her in for a kiss, as that was his favorite way to pull her out of her pain.

Soon, she stopped shaking with pain and responded to his kiss. He pulled back when the need for air overcame the need to kiss Tally. The world seemed brighter and more in focus after kissing Tally. Zane loved seeing the world this way. He missed it. He could remember things that he never seemed to remember otherwise.

"Zane?" Tally asked, confused by their surroundings. This happened the first time they kissed. This time, he was prepared though.

"Tally, what happened?" He asked, playing along.

"I don't know, I – we were in the balloon." She said. Zane's eyes lit up. _She remembers!_

"I know, Tally. But _what happened_?" He asked. He remembered something that she said the first time this happened. "We jumped out of the balloon, and now…here we are." He said, letting panic seep into his voice.

"They got us," she said. "No, no, _no_! This can't be happening!" She exclaimed.

"What? Tally, what is it?" Zane asked. "_Who_ got us?"

"That's not important right now, Zane-la," She said with a smile. She cupped his cheek. "The only thing that matters is keeping us bubbly."

"We stay bubbly all the time, Tally." Zane said, frowning. "And why'd you call me Zane-la?"

"Again, not important." She said, smiling. "First we need to…get breakfast? No, that's not right. We need to – " she paused. "No, Tally. _Focus_." She said to herself. "Don't let them win." She took a deep breath, before leaning over to kiss Zane again.

When she pulled away, she seemed more in control of her thoughts. "We need to record everything we can remember," she said as she walked over to the wall. She asked it for a recorder and to please get it as fast as possible. Almost two seconds later, she walked back to Zane, recorder in hand.

"We climbed the tower on top of Valentino," She said into it. She motioned for Zane to join her.

"I can't," He admitted. "I was pretending to help you remember." He said sheepishly.

"Oh, Zane-la." Tally said with a smile. "I'll help you remember." She kissed him once more, with a ferocity Zane didn't know she possessed. When she pulled away she spoke into the recorder again. "We made the rink fall," she paused. "Together."

"Cuffs," Zane said suddenly. He pulled the recorder out of Tally's hands and spoke into it quickly. "We had cuffs. That's why we were in the balloon."

Tally nodded. Then her brows knit in confusion. "I'm losing it, Zane. I can't…I don't…" She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "What are you doing?" She asked, gesturing to his hands.

Zane looked from the girl in front of him, down to the recorder in his hands. The world around him was softening quickly. His thoughts were becoming less and less clear. He was talking to Tally, but she was somehow different. They kissed quite a lot, and then talked about…something, and now here they were. But why was he holding this recorder?

"I…don't know exactly." He admitted. He grinned slyly at Tally. "I _do_ know that we were kissing quite a bit just a moment ago," he said with a wink. She rolled her eyes and grabbed the recorder.

"I wonder what's on this?" She asked, as she pressed play.

"_We climbed the tower on top of Valentino." _

"Was that my voice?" Tally asked, stopping the recorder. Zane nodded, shocked. He took it from her and pressed play again. Tally's voice continued.

"_We made the rink fall. Together."_ Zane looked at Tally, confused. They'd already talked about how Zane's friends pulled the rink stunt; Tally was just a victim of the prank.

"_Cuffs. We had cuffs. That's why we were in the balloon."_ It was Zane's voice this time. His eyes widened as he listened to himself talk.

"_I'm losing it, Zane. I can't…I don't…"_ Tally's voice cut off and the recorder stopped playing.

"What was that?" Tally asked. Zane was too stunned to respond. "Zane_._ _What _was_ that_?"

"I don't know." He said quietly. "It was us," he paused. "I think." He thought of what the recording said about the rink. "Check the feeds from when the rink fell," he said suddenly.

Tally looked at him like he was crazy. "Is this about what those Pretties said to me when were there?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know yet." He said as he made a finger gesture. The wall screen booted up and Zane could see all of the city's feeds. He used a series of eye-mouse clicks to get him to the day the rink fell. There were a couple hundred feeds about what had happened, and one in which a few Pretties were being interviewed. Zane smiled, remembering the rush he felt when the cameras asked him what he thought had happened, and when he replied that maybe the fireworks underneath it were too hot to be under ice.

They watched interview after interview, sometimes laughing when a Pretty was so disheveled that they couldn't even answer a question.

They were laughing at Shay at the moment, who looked like she was about to throw up from the fall. Their laughter cut short as Tally ran on to the screen and wrapped her arm around Shay.

"_And what do you have to say about the rink falling, miss?" _The interviewers voice cut through the silence of the room.

"_Whatever the reason was, that fall was _bubbly_."_ Tally said. She had flash tattoos on her face, spinning wildly out of control.

The Tally on screen whispered something in Shay's ear and took off towards one of the goal posts. Shay turned to talk to the interviewer again, but a different camera took over. Tally sprinted to Zane who was tangled up in the netting. As soon as he saw her, his smile grew. He opened his arms out wide and Tally ran straight into them. She kissed him fiercely before helping him out of the net.

The interviewer caught up to them and asked Zane for his opinion.

"_I bet it was those fireworks," _he said mischievously. _"They were probably too hot to be under all that ice." _He shrugged, before kissing Tally on the cheek. _"I'm just glad that they made us wear the bungee jackets!"_ He said with a laugh. Tally laughed with him, before asking the interviewer if they could go now. He nodded them off, before turning back to the camera, with still no explanation of what exactly caused the rink to fall.

Zane shut off the feed and turned to Tally.

"That was…weird," she said. "Like, I remember being there and saying that, but I definitely don't remember you, Shay, or those flash tattoos."

"I know," Zane agreed. "I remember being interviewed and tangled in the net, but not you at all." He said with a frown.

"What did they do to us, Zane?" Tally asked, tears beginning to stream down her face.

"I don't know," he admitted as he rubbed her back soothingly. "But we'll find out. I promise."


	6. Chapter 6

For the rest of the day, Tally and Zane tried to distract themselves and not focus on the fact that the city did something to their minds. Every time one of them would have a thought that brought on some pain, they recorded it with the recorder Tally got from the wall.

After they added a new memory to the recorder, they would listen to the whole list and try to piece together _why_ the city would alter their memories.

"You said _they_ got us," Zane said suddenly. "Who _are_ they?"

Tally looked up from the wall screen and turned to face Zane. Her eyes roamed his face as her mind tried to remember the conversation Zane was talking about.

She could remember her conversation with Peris from earlier in the morning and them agreeing to go ballooning tonight. She could remember coming to Zane's and being mad at him for not opening the door. She could remember being scared when he was in pain.

All these things she could remember with perfect clarity – another side effect of the operation. But after she helped Zane get through his headache, the world got softer. Tally tried to remember talking to Zane as "the other Tally," as he'd put it, but it was as if she were looking through a thick fog. Everything was out of focus and impossible to sort through. It was like asking a littlie to pick out a bubbly outfit for a bash. Impossible.

"Tally?" Zane asked. She'd been quiet for too long again, she realized.

"Sorry, Zane-la." Tally apologized quickly. Zane's eyes lit up.

"You – she – you when you remember things – you called me that earlier!" He exclaimed. "She said it wasn't important…" he trailed off with a frown. He turned away from Tally in frustration and fell face first on to his bed. His groan of frustration let Tally know that he was all right.

Tally frowned, frustrated that they couldn't remember. _It was so easy before! A kiss was all it took before…_her thoughts trailed off and a familiar prickle of pain was creeping up Tally's neck. She grabbed the recorder, already used to the routine she and Zane had fallen into during the day.

"Kisses work best." She said simply. Zane rolled over on the bed, startled by her voice.

"Did you say something, Tally-wa?" He asked. _If the other Tally can call _me_ Zane-la, then I can call _her_ Tally-wa. It's cute. Just like Tally._

She didn't answer him, but instead her words floated around in her head. _Kisses work best. _Kisses _work best. Kisses _work._ Kiss Zane. Kiss him!_

Her thoughts shouted at her over and over again and soon Tally found herself on the bed next to Zane kissing him with everything she had in her. All of the stress that the past week had brought on them faded away and soon there was nothing but Tally and Zane.

When she pulled away to breathe, the world was clearer than it had ever been before. She could remember everything: Zane, the Specials, jumping out of the balloon, the hovercars waiting for them, being taken back to Special Circumstances, screaming for Zane, hearing him scream back and not being able to do a damn thing about it. She remembered _everything._

"Tally?" Zane's voice broke through the clarity. She turned to face him, and she could tell that he remembered, too.

"Oh, Zane." She breathed in relief. He pulled her into a hug and she gratefully accepted it.

"I love you," he breathed.

"I love you, too." Tally said with a smile. She pulled back from his embrace. "I never got to tell you the first time."

"I thought I'd never see you again." He admitted.

"I know," she said. "But we're together now. Even if we can't remember for how long." She tried to make light of the situation.

"I just wish there was something we could do about it." He replied seriously.

Tally sighed. "We have to fix ourselves, Zane. We _can't_ let them win."

"I know. We need to do what Croy and the other Uglies did for you. But no pills this time," he said with a wink.

Tally laughed. "Agreed."

"So, we set up clues for them – us – to find when we're ready?" He asked.

"I guess so. Anything is better than being a bubblehead," Tally said. "Where should we start?" She asked.

"Well, we're going ballooning tonight with Peris and Shay," Zane said. "That should be fun." He rolled his eyes.

"I bet the Specials are thrilled that we're going to be in a balloon again." Tally said sarcastically.

"I bet they're thrilled that we ran into each other again." Zane replied in the same tone. "We've probably been on their radar since we ran into each other." He said, thinking of the day he and Tally's paths accidentally crossed.

"I still can't believe they took us out of each other's lives." Tally said. She sighed. "At least your head is all fixed up now," she said, brushing the hair off of his forehead.

"Sort of," he mumbled. Tally smiled sadly.

"Sort of," she agreed quietly. She didn't know how long they would be able to stay bubbly, so she wanted to hurry and figure out how to help her and Zane, but at the same time, she wanted to do nothing more than just lay in his arms on the bed in the silence that they were so accustomed to.

Glancing at her wrist, Tally was still shocked to not see the jet-black cuff, listening to their every word.

"It's weird, isn't it?" Zane asked. Tally looked up and saw that he was examining his own wrist. "They were such a big part of our lives, and now they're gone."

"So are our memories," Tally reminded him, sadly.

"They're not gone, Tally-wa. Just locked away." He grinned at her. "It's up to us to unlock the door."

"I wish it wasn't like this." Tally said quietly. "Why can't they just let us have each other?" A lone tear made it's way down her cheek. Zane reached up and wiped it away.

"You know how Dr. Cable is, Tally." Zane reminded her. "If she's not in control, she sees it as a threat."

"A special circumstance," Tally muttered. Zane chuckled quietly. He leaned over and kissed her squarely on the mouth.

"The world was going soft," he said sadly. "We should probably get to work. I don't know how long kissing you will work." He paused. "But we can always keep trying that theory out if you like…" He trailed off with a wink. Tally rolled her eyes.

"Okay, so we put the first clue in the balloon somehow?" She asked. "How do we do that?"

Zane smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."

Tally laughed as the balloon lifted into the air. She gripped the edge of the basket tightly, still not completely convinced that it would hold the six of them in the air safely.

"Tally-wa, _relax_." Fausto said with a chuckle. "The Hot-Airs do this all the time, with at least eight people. We're fine." He said with a smile.

"I know! I know, it's just so nervous-making," she said with another laugh. She downed the rest of her champagne and refilled her glass.

"I'm so glad we're doing this!" Shay exclaimed. "Good call, Tally-wa." She said with a smile.

Tally smiled over at her friend. She'd missed hanging out with Shay this past week. She and Zane had been so caught up in their new romance that they'd ignored their other friends. But going ballooning together had fixed that. Once they were all up in the air with their champagne, the six of them had easily picked up right where they left off.

She turned from Shay to the boy sitting right next to her. Zane was already smiling at Tally, and she could feel her own smile growing in return. She turned away from him when a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Tally-wa! I thought you were here to hang out with _me_," Peris whined jokingly. She rolled her eyes and gave him a hug.

"We are hanging out, silly!" She said with a laugh. He pulled her over to the edge of the basket, and put his arm over her shoulders. She wrapped her arm comfortingly around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder. Zane wouldn't mind.

"Nervous?" Peris asked with a grin.

"Only a little," Tally said unconvincingly. She drained her champagne flute again to help calm her nerves.

"Don't be bogus, Tally-wa," Peris said comfortingly. "This is bubbly!" He laughed freely. Tally joined in, feeling the champagne's effect finally start to kick in.

Ho came up to her left and leaned over the edge. "I'm the king of the world!" He screamed. Shay burst into a fit of giggles and stood next to him. A little closer than before, Tally noticed.

"_Hello_, Uglyville!" Shay yelled. Ho and Fausto began to crack up.

Tally leaned over the edge like Ho did, and let out the most freeing scream. "WOOOO!"

Peris joined in, and the two of them erupted into laughter as their echoes bounced back to them.

"This is so bubbly!" Zane's voice filled the air as he joined the five pretties on the opposite side of the balloon. They all began cracking up when Fausto cut their voices short.

"Best friends forever!"

The five of them cheered, loudly, and laughed as they could hear other pretties in near-by balloons calling back to them. Tally stepped away from the edge and went to the picnic basket that Zane had added to the balloon. She reached in for a muffin, but pulled out something hard and metallic.

"What's this?" She asked as she pulled the object out of the basket. Shay turned to face her and saw the object glistening in the firelight from the balloon.

"It looks so…_Rusty_." She said. "I think we learned about that in the dorms."

Ho came up behind her and put his hand on the small of her back. Everyone noticed, but no one said anything as Shay's face tinted slightly pink. "I think it's called…a key!" He said, happily.

Fausto nodded. "They showed us pictures of them in school back in Uglyville. How'd you get it?"

"I don't know," Tally replied. "It was in the basket." She turned to Zane. "Did you put this in here?"

He looked at the key in Tally's hand. _That feels like it's important._

"I didn't." He said honestly. "That's weird."

"You should keep it, Tally-wa. I bet the wall can make a necklace out of it." Peris said.

"Oh, Tally! That would be so pretty-making!" Shay exclaimed. "I can probably get a copy, too!"

Tally looked at the key in her hand. _I wonder what this is for._ _It looks so _new_ for something so _Rusty_. _She closed her fist around the key and looked up at Shay.

"You're right, Shay-la. Very pretty-making." She said with a smile.

Tally put the key back in the basket so she would have it when she got back to her room. For the rest of the night it stayed in the basket as the six friends drank champagne, laughed with each other, and shouted into the darkness from their balloon.

It was nearing three in the morning when Fausto pushed the button that called for a hovercar. Less than five minutes later, the six of them were on their way back to the city.

In the backseat, Tally put her head on Zane's shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her.

"This was a good idea, Tally-wa," he said gently. She smiled.

"I'm glad we did it, too." She murmured. "Maybe we should join the Hot-Airs," she joked.

"No way," he said back. "Remember how jumpy you were before the champagne hit? You'd never make it as a Hot-Air," he teased.

Tally let out a small yawn, realizing how late it was. "I suppose you're right." She yawned again. "Do you mind if I stay at your place tonight?" She asked.

"Of course not," Zane replied. "You know I love it when you stay over."

"Good," Tally grinned. "Oh, that reminds me! I want to ask your wall to turn that Rusty thing into a necklace."

"Can I see it?" Zane asked. Tally reached into the basket and pulled out the key. She handed it to Zane and he turned it over and over in his hands. "It looks _new_," he said, turning it once more.

"I thought so, too." Tally said as he handed the key back to her. She shrugged as much as she could in the position she was in. "I guess some Rusty stuff just keeps well."

Zane seemed unconvinced, but nodded anyway. Tally put her head back on his shoulder, and felt his rest on top of hers. In just a few minutes, they were pulling up to Zane's building. Waving at their friends, Tally and Zane got out of the car and made their way up to his room.

Once they were inside, Tally put the basket down right next to the door. She walked over to the wall and asked for some sleep clothes for herself and Zane. She changed quickly while he went to the bathroom. Once she was changed, she went back to the wall.

"Wall?" She asked. It lit up in response. "I have this…thing. I think it's some sort of Rusty thing, but Shay-la said it was pretty and that I should make it a necklace, so do you think you can do that?"

A scanner tray jutted out from the wall and Tally placed the key onto it. The scanner beeped and retracted into the wall. The area of the screen next to Tally booted up and she jumped in surprise. Zane came out of the bathroom and walked over to Tally, recycling his clothes from the day.

"Why's the screen on?" He asked.

"I don't know," Tally said. "I asked the wall to make my…key…a necklace and it scanned it and then the screen…" She trailed off as her face appeared on the screen.

"_Okay, it's ready!" _The on-screen Tally said. Zane walked up behind her and smiled into whatever was recording them.

"_Hi, us."_ He said. _"I know this is weird, but try and stay with us. We're going to tell you something, and you may or may not want to hear it. If you don't want to hear it, then you can tell the wall 'hopscotch' and this will cut off. If you want to keep listening, then you don't have to do anything."_

Tally asked the wall to pause the video, and it obeyed. She turned to Zane.

"What do you want to do?" She asked.

His eyes searched hers for a while before he answered. Tally stayed quiet and let him think.

"I want to know," he said. Tally nodded and told the wall to resume the video.

Neither of them expected what they were about to see.


	7. Chapter 7

"_As you might have guessed, you two knew each other before you ran into each other at the surge floor." _The on-screen Tally said.

"_I know that…I…looked up the feeds from the rink falling earlier," _On-screen Zane said, stumbling over what to call his bubbleheaded self. _"And I know that it had to be somewhat of a shock to you both."_

"_Unfortunately, the Specials have gotten a hold of our brains and it seems that they've erased us out of each other's lives completely."_ The Tally on the screen said.

"Pause please." Tally said in a hushed voice. She turned to Zane. "This is crazy, Zane! Specials_ erasing _memories_?_ I'm supposed to believe that Special Circumstances has the power to do that?"

"Tally-wa, please calm down." Zane said. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and rubbed her arm soothingly. "I know it's crazy, but let's just finish the video and see what…we…have to say."

Tally sighed. "Okay. But if it's bogus, we're going to forget all about it."

"Tally, think about it. You remembered a key; we have you recorded saying there was one! And then all of a sudden a key shows up in our picnic basket? I don't think that's a coincidence." Zane said. Tally sighed again, before nodding. Zane smiled. "Play please," he told the wall.

"_Now, I know that's a little bogus,"_ the on-screen Tally continued. Zane smiled at the fact that both versions of Tally had the same thought process. _"But it is what it is. The Specials messed with our minds, and it's up to you two bubbleheads to fix us."_

"_I know that's a lot of pressure to put on you two," _Zane said. _"And again, if you don't want to do it, you can opt out right now by saying the word 'hopscotch.' The tape will stop playing and you can forget all this ever happened, just like the Specials want you to." _He paused, giving Tally and Zane plenty of time to say 'hopscotch,' but neither of them did.

"_Okay, so you've decided to try and fix our brains."_ Zane said.

"_Tally, don't be scared." _The on-screen Tally said, talking directly to her cloudy-minded self. _"I know that you're going to be doubting this whole thing because, well, I'm you. It's scary, yes. But you can do it! You have a wonderful partner in crime to help you fix us." _She said, nudging Zane, who smiled and nudged her back.

Zane nudged Tally, and she couldn't help her knee-jerk reaction to nudge him back. He smiled and she laughed.

Zane's voice on the screen caught their attention again and they focused on him. _"Now, in order to keep the Specials off your tails, we've taken the liberty to set up a series of seemingly mindless tasks that, when completed, should bring you both one step closer to bubbliness." _He said.

The on-screen Tally chuckled. _"You two just have to figure it out!" _On-screen Zane rolled his eyes. _"Fine." _On-screen Tally sighed. _"We know it's not fair to not give you any clues, so the first task answer is also a clue to the second, and so on."_

"_And the clue for the first task is in Zane's room somewhere." _On-screen Zane said. _"Okay, that's all we've got for you. Good luck. Break their bonds."_ He signed off with a salute, but Tally's laugh could be heard just before the camera shut off.

Tally turned to Zane. "Break their bonds?" She asked with a chuckle.

"I…I don't know." Zane said.

"It was funny then and it's funny now," Tally laughed out.

Zane tickled her until she cried out 'uncle.' "Is it still funny, Tally-wa?" He asked lightly.

"Very funny-making, Zane-la." She said with a laugh. She twisted out of his grip and walked over to the wall. "Wall, can I please have something to sleep in?" She asked.

The wall produced a set of clothes for her to sleep in and she grabbed them before running to the bathroom to change. She managed to not get tackled by Zane again, and locked the bathroom door behind her. Laughing, she quickly changed into her sleep clothes. She tried to stealthily open her door, but still being somewhat drunk, she opened it too quickly and hit Zane as he tried to sneak up on her.

"Oh!" He exclaimed.

"Oh my god, Zane!" Tally cried out as she dropped her clothes and ran to him. "Are you okay?" She asked.

He groaned and rubbed his forehead. "Tell the wall…'gloves in the balloon'," he muttered. Glancing at his hand, he checked for blood and was relieved when he saw none.

"Gloves in the balloon?" Tally asked. He started to nod, but the movement was too painful, so he settled for a shrug instead. Tally didn't know what would happen, but there was really only one way to find out. She walked over to the wall and said clearly, "gloves in the balloon."

A light flickered next to Tally and she jumped back in surprise. Acting on an impulse, she touched it with her palm. The light changed from green to blue and a tray emerged. Zane walked over and put his arm around Tally's waist.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I…I don't know," Tally said quietly. She picked up the object on the tray. "Gloves in the balloon…?" She tried weakly. She sighed when nothing happened. "Stupid _us_, not giving us any further instructions. What are we supposed to do with _this_?" She held out the object towards Zane as if it offended her. He chuckled and picked it up to examine it.

"It definitely feels…familiar." He decided. "Maybe we can ask Fausto or Ho-la to look at it?"

"I don't know, Zane-la. I feel like _we _have to figure it out. It is _our_ minds we're trying to fix," Tally responded.

"I guess you're right, Tally-wa. Now to just figure out what it is." He turned the object over and over in his hands, hoping that eventually he would just _remember_ it. Although he knew that was a foolish thing to hope for, he just couldn't help himself.

Only a few minutes passed before Tally yawned. "Maybe we should sleep on it? We might dream about it tonight." She suggested.

"There's not much else we can do," Zane agreed. "Plus, I'm still exhausted from that bubbly balloon ride earlier."

Tally smiled softly. "Let's go to bed, Zane-la." She reached out her hand and he accepted it happily. They walked towards the bed, and once they were settled in, Zane told the lights to shut off.

Thirty minutes later, the object on the table lit up a bright turquoise color, lighting up the entire room.

"Lights off," Zane groaned. He rolled over onto his stomach and covered his head with an extra pillow. "Lights!" He yelled in exasperation. "_Off_!" When nothing happened, he sat up and looked around for the source of the illumination. He gasped when he realized it was coming from the table. "Tally!" He hissed. "Tally get up!"

She groaned and turned away from Zane. "Lights off," she muttered. He chuckled.

"I'm afraid that won't work, Tally-wa." He said as he poked her ribcage, making her jump up in surprise. "It seems that our alternate selves just wanted some quiet," he concluded. "Lights on," he announced. Tally groaned as the room lit up.

Zane got out of the bed and walked towards the light. "Umm, room? The thing lit up. Care to explain?" He tried. Nothing happened and he groaned in frustration. Tally sighed and got up to join him. She took the object from the desk and tossed it in the air before catching it with her hands. After she repeated this a few times, she threw it too hard and it ended up across the room. It brushed the wall and the screen lit up. Tally's face stared out at the room.

"_Oh, good! You found the compass." _Tally's on-screen voice said. Zane's head whipped around and he stared at the screen.

"How did you _do_ that?" He cried out in frustration. Tally merely shrugged. _Compass?_ She thought. _What kind of word is _compass_?_

"_This compass is a replica of the one I used to get to the Smoke."_ Tally said. _"Dr. Cable, the woman I'm sure you both remember, gave it to me to track down the Smoke, betray Shay-la, and bring everyone in to be turned Pretty."_

"Pause!" Tally yelled. "That's ridiculous! I would never betray Shay-la! I went to the Smoke because Dr. Cable threatened to keep me Ugly unless I helped her find the Sm – _Shay_. Oh…oh my god…" She trailed off. "I betrayed her, Zane. I betrayed Shay-la. And…Croy, Maddy, Oz…_David_, I betrayed all of them!" She turned to Zane and buried her face in his chest. He began rocking her back and forth, trying to soothe her tears.

"Tally-wa, calm down. Crying isn't really your thing." He said, rubbing her back soothingly. "It's very unhappy-making. Please stop." He attempted to calm her down. After a few minutes, she managed to keep in her tears. "There, see? Now let's see what we have to say about this, yeah?" He asked in a gentle voice, much like a Middle Pretty would talk to a littlie.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Play, please."

"_I know that's shocking to hear. I'm sorry." _Tally said on-screen. Zane came up behind her.

"_Tally, if it makes you feel any better, the only reason you were forced to track down the Smoke is because I wouldn't do it. But Dr. Cable hadn't thought to keep me Ugly otherwise. So, I'm just as much at fault as you are. Please don't beat yourself up about it." _He sighed, and then chuckled. _"And don't Ugly cry. I love you, but please don't. I won't know what to do, I can promise you that."_

On-screen Tally laughed and smacked him in the arm. Suddenly her face went blank. _"Umm…Zane-la? I don't recall us telling each other we love each other yet…"_

"_Oh! Umm…well, _we_ do, which means _they_ do."_ He turned to face where Zane was standing. _"You do love her,_ right_?"_ He paused briefly. _"There, see? He loves her…you…_compass!_ Let's talk about the compass."_

"_Right!" _Tally agreed. _"You did it! You passed the first test. I'd ask how, but I'll be there to see it. Sort of. Anyway, you did it. And you learned a little something about your pasts."_

"_And now for a little bit more."_ Zane said. He held up a sketch of a long black cuff on a forearm. _"These, as I hope you remember, are cuffs. Tally and I used to have them. The doctors put them on us a while back. They were like our interface rings. Only we couldn't take these off to sneak out – they were permanent. They would listen to us constantly and the city – and Dr. Cable – could hear what we were up to at all times of the day."_

"_That's why the compass lit up." _Tally said. _"You were silent. Zane-la and I used to go for days on end in silence, or only saying the bare-minimum."_ She paused. _"The reason you had to say 'gloves in the balloon' was because that's what it took for us to get them off. I thought of using heat resistant gloves in a hot-air balloon to make them expand and slip off our wrists."_

"_Your next clue – if you still want it – is in a hot-air balloon. More precisely, the one you were just in earlier." _Zane said with a smile. He paused and his smile grew. _"Don't ask how we managed that."_

Tally laughed. _"Back to the clue. Figure it out, and you'll be one step closer to freeing your minds." _The screen went dark.

Tally let out a sigh. "Okay, that was a lot to process."

Zane rolled his eyes. "That's an understatement."

Tally chuckled. "So…do we 'free our minds' or ignore this all and go on living our lives?" She asked. Zane stared into her eyes and she stared into his.

In perfect synchronization, they smiled and said, "Free our minds."


	8. Chapter 8

"How are we even supposed to get into the exact same balloon?" Zane asked before taking a bite out of his muffin. They'd decided to wait until the morning to try and figure out their next task, so that they would be fully awake and hopefully be able to come up with better ideas.

"I was hoping you'd think of something," Tally admitted.

"I mean, I guess we can –" he broke off with a gasp.

Tally looked over at him quickly, to make sure that he wasn't doubled over in pain. "Zane? What is it? Are you okay?"

He waved off her questions with his hand as he got up and went to the other side of the room. "Room? I left…something in the balloon last night, is there any way we can go back to the same one so I can get it?"

The room's automatic voice, with the soothing authority of a Middle Pretty came on instantly. "What is it you've lost, young Pretty? I'm sure I can replace it for you."

Zane hesitated. Tally, thinking quickly, interrupted the silence. "That's the problem. We don't really remember much of last night and we can't remember what Zane-la left in the balloon." He shot her a grateful look as the room processed what she said.

"It seems the balloon you occupied last night is still available. Shall I request it?"

"Yes," they said at the same time.

Tally groaned in frustration. "Are you sure it's here?!" She asked again. _Whatever _it_ is_, she thought bitterly to herself.

Zane rolled his eyes from the other side of the balloon and chuckled. "If we said it's here, it's probably here. Just keep looking, Tally-wa."

They'd been in the balloon for over thirty minutes already, and Tally was getting anxious. The longer they stayed in the balloon, the longer she just wanted to curl up in bed with Zane and a few muffins and calorie purgers and forget this all ever happened.

She was just about to voice her opinion when Zane yelped in surprise.

"Tally-wa, look!" She turned her head to see what he'd found in the balloon, but instead saw him pointing out over the edge of the balloon. Curious, she crawled over to him and leaned over the same edge.

At first she couldn't see it, but if she squinted, she could see that there were sticks laid out in a particular order on the ground. Then, as if she had set off a spark with her own mind, the sticks caught on fire and she could clearly read what they said.

THE NEW SMOKE LIVES.

She didn't even have time to register the now-familiar feeling of pain creeping up her neck before she passed out.

"Tally? Oh my god, Tally-wa, please wake up!" Zane shouted as he cradled Tally's head in his lap.

"Z…Zane?"

"Oh thank god," he exhaled as he ran his fingers through his hair for what was most definitely not the first time.

"What happened?" Tally asked as she tried to sit up. There was a sharp pain in the back of her skull. "Oh…my head…"

Zane pulled her into a half sitting, half laying down position and rocked her back and forth. "Don't move, Tally. It's okay, don't move too much. Just stay here and try not to move and you'll be okay."

Tally tried to nod her head but it was too painful. "I don't even remember anything, Zane-la," she said. "It's just not fair." A lone tear made it's way down her cheek, which Zane wiped away as best as he could from his angle behind her.

"I know, Tally. I know." He pressed a kiss into her hair and sighed. "Now, don't be mad, Tally-wa, but…" he trailed off, unsure of how to proceed.

"What is it, Zane-la?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"Well, you were so still, I didn't know what was wrong with you and I panicked and I…I called the wardens for help."

"_Zane_," Tally groaned.

"I know, I know." He replied. "I shouldn't have, and it was a stupid bubbleheaded moment, but what's done is done. They should be here any minute now."

Tally sighed, but nodded. She turned her head to the right and placed a small kiss on Zane's forearm.

"I love you, Zane." She whispered as she heard the distant sound of the hovercar's alarms.

"I love you, too, Tally."

Zane sighed heavily as he finished counting the tiles on the ceiling…again. He'd been waiting for almost an hour while the doctors examined Tally.

The wardens had told him very little during the hovercar ride to the hospital. Only that they hadn't seen 'such a severe case of dehydration in a very long time,' which Zane knew wasn't true. He'd been told that lie a few times already and had learned to not trust the wardens when they passed something off as "dehydration." But he'd been a good Pretty and responded in the way that he knew he should. They then asked him how often Tally had been drinking water or if he could even remember when the last time she'd had some water. He considered lying, but he knew they'd be able to see as soon as the doctors got a look at her whether he'd been telling the truth or not.

So he was as honest as he thought was necessary, and the wardens seemed satisfied with his answers. After all, they didn't have any reasons to not believe him.

He'd just started recounting the tiles when a Middle Pretty doctor came out and smiled at him. Just seeing the smile on her face was enough to put a sense of calm over Zane.

"How is she?" he asked before the doctor could get a word out. Sort of calm.

The Middle Pretty chuckled in a way that reminded Zane of his own mother, Heidi. "She's fine. She's asking for her boyfriend. I'm assuming that's you?"

"Yes," Zane said with a sigh of relief. The doctor led him to Tally's room quickly and with the expected, pleasant Middle Pretty small talk. When they finally got to the room, the doctor left him alone to see Tally.

He exhaled harshly before going in. Tally was sitting on the bed, flicking through her eye-feeds impatiently. She looked up when the door shut, and she smiled at Zane.

"_There_ you are, Zane-la!" She exclaimed. "So can I go home yet or what? This place is _so_ bogus."

Zane was taken aback by her bubbleheadedness, but took it all in stride. After all, she was probably just acting this way because of all the Middle Pretties around.

"I know, it's so unhappy-making," he said with a frown. "But yeah, you can go now. You just need to remember to drink more water, Nose." She stuck her tongue out at the nickname but smiled at him genuinely.

"I pinged Peris and filled him in, he's waiting in my room now." She got up off the bed and Zane went over to offer her his support. She gratefully accepted it, and together they left the hospital, still babbling on like the other Pretties surrounding them.

"He still can't believe I was dehydrated!" Tally said, giggling as they made their way past the Middle Pretty at the receptionist desk. He smiled at them, Tally babbling on and on, and Zane pretending to listen. They looked like just another Pretty couple who hadn't taken enough care of themselves.

"…And then he said that we could have a giant bash with all the Crumblies and Uglies in the cities combined." Tally was saying. When Zane didn't respond, she huffed and stopped walking. "Are you even listening to me, Zane-la?" She asked impatiently.

Zane stopped only a step after Tally did, but it was enough to rile her up. "I knew it! You're not even listening!" Her eyes flashed from the green tint that they had constantly been for as long as Zane could remember, to a flat red-orange of annoyance. Zane was impressed that she had such control of her moods at a time like this.

"Of course I'm not listening, Tally-wa," he said, keeping up his bubblehead persona. "You sound completely _Ugly_ right now." He began walking again, mentally apologizing to Tally with every step. He just hoped that she would follow him.

Seconds later, he heard her scoff, and then she brushed past him in a hurry. He half jogged to keep up with her quick pace, and grabbed her wrist as it swung backwards toward him. "Tally-wa, wait."

She stopped walking but didn't turn towards him. "_What_, Zane-la?"

"Look, I'm sorry. I guess I'm still just stressed out from you being in the hospital! It was so bogus. None of the Middle Pretties would tell me anything!"

She turned around and flung herself at him. Immediately they were kissing, not caring who was watching. Only once they paused to take a breath, Tally said, "Oh, Zane-la, I could never stay mad at you. It's too Ugly."

Zane placed a lingering kiss on her forehead and exhaled happily. "You," he said with a bop on her nose. "Are very happy-making. You know that?"

She smiled and he wrapped his arm around her waist. They stepped onto the slidewalk directly in front of the hospital, still intertwined.

Once they were a safe distance away from other Pretties, Zane leaned towards Tally and whispered in her ear. "I loved the bubblehead performance, Tally-wa. Very believable." He placed a kiss the side of her head and pulled away.

Tally turned towards him slowly, her eyes changing to a confused purple. "Performance?"

**I know, I know, it's been forever! But I was stuck with a HUGE case of writer's block. Today I just decided to sit down and write, and I came up with this. It's given me a bunch of ideas for where to take the story, so I hope you like it!**

**-In the Name of Merlin**


	9. Chapter 9

"They _what_?" Dr. Cable screeched at the Special who was delivering the daily report of the Pretties, cutting him off mid-sentence.

The Special cleared his throat quickly before repeating his interrupted statement. "It appears that Zane and Tally have re-connected, ma'am." He paused, Cable's glare slowing him down momentarily. "They don't seem to recognize each other at all, but the connection is there all the same. They were seen just last night leaving a party at Valentino Manor together."

Dr. Cable pinched the bridge of her nose between her forefinger and thumb and exhaled sharply. "Get me the doctors who operated on them."

The Special hesitated and Cable barked out the rest of her command. "_Now_!"

He turned and left quickly, not needing to be told twice. Cable was glad when he was gone; she was tired of his face already. Alone with her thoughts, she pulled up the files on Zane and Tally Youngblood. Right from the start, these two had been quite troublesome for her.

Both were involved with the Smoke, yes, but they had both been key parts in taking it down from within. And then when Tally had finally become a Pretty, she of course ran into Zane, who started to replant Ugly thoughts in her mind.

The Specials had tried everything to keep them apart; they even removed some of the Pretty haze in Tally's friend Shay's mind, letting some of her Ugly hatred seep through the champagne and partying and Pretty _fun. _But it hadn't worked. Tally and Zane stuck together more than ever with all of the things thrown their way. It was a nightmare in headquarters and Cable once spent five straight days with no sleep trying to find ways to keep them apart. Not that she noticed with her Special body.

That was when she got wind of their escape plan. Shay had been promised a spot on the Special team if she helped bring Tally in, and she had been a very useful asset in keeping one step ahead of the Pretties' plans. Hordes of Specials had been waiting for the hot air balloon to sail over them, coated in the same material of their sneak suits. The Pretties sailed over them quietly and a bit quicker than expected, but it was nothing they weren't prepared for.

Zane had jumped first, and before he could even let out a scream of excitement, the Specials were there to catch and silence him. Tally jumped out a few minutes later, well over the gridline of the city. With their modified hovercars, they sailed over the grid easily and caught her moments before she hit the ground. She too, was silenced quickly.

With the two Pretties unconscious in the hovercars, they made their way back to headquarters and locked them in separate rooms. It was a few hours before they could track down all of their friends, but before twenty-four hours had past, every Pretty that was closely related to Tally or Zane was in Special custody. All they had to do was trick the group into undergoing a routine upgrade surgery, and the doctors could easily go in a wipe out any memory they wanted.

Cable thought she was being generous in letting Tally and Zane each keep some of their friends from their previous lives, but she now knew it was a mistake. She _should_ have captured Tally and turned her into a Special; she obviously had the mind for it. But now she was stuck with her two worst nightmares together again and she didn't have a damn clue what to do about it.

-ITIKY-

_What am I going to do? _Cable thought as news of Tally's third visit to the hospital for "dehydration" was reported to her. _They're fighting the blocks in their minds and sooner or later, they're going to figure everything out. They'll ruin this city! I've worked too hard, I can't let that happen._

"Ma'am?" One of her newer Specials asked.

"What?" She snapped. The new Special didn't even blink, feeling little to no fear. She admired that about this newer breed of Specials.

"We believe that if Youngblood comes in one more time for her 'dehydration,' we'll be able to give her new lesions that completely erase the memories she's been regaining."

"And how do you know _that_?" Cable asked. Before the new Special could respond the doors to her office slid open.

"Because you've got me," came the voice of one of Dr. Cable's most prized doctors.

She smiled her vicious smile that would drive most Pretties to tears before greeting her guest. "Maddy, what a pleasure to see you. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

**Extremely short filler chapter, but bear with me! Reviews are my greatest motivation.**

**-In the Name of Merlin**


	10. Chapter 10

Tally woke with a jolt. It was the third time that week that she had been forcefully yanked from her dreams back into reality. She reached across the bed for Zane, and frowned when she got a handful of sheets instead.

He had been more distant lately, and she knew it had something to do with their conversation after she'd been discharged from the hospital. Zane had been adamant that the Middle Pretties had done something to her to erase her memories, and he wouldn't stop talking about Specials for three days after that. She did her best to handle the situation, but there were times when she caught him looking at her when he thought she wasn't paying attention and she knew he was thinking of something, or some_one_ else. It broke her heart. Wasn't she enough for him? She sacrificed so much to be with him; her friendships with Shay and Peris had suffered, she hadn't talked to Fausto or Ho-la for weeks, and she couldn't even remember the last time she went to a bash.

She rubbed her hand over her face in an attempt to drag the bogus feelings away and sat up. "Lights on," she murmured quietly. The room lit up instantly. Zane was nowhere to be found, but she wasn't really surprised.

"Send a ping to Peris, Shay-la, Fausto, and Ho-la. _Bash tonight? Zane is being bogus and I want to be _not_ bogus. Miss you. Tally-wa._"

Getting out of bed, Tally noticed a note next to a small cart that was obviously from a breakfast drone. She smiled, thinking Zane had started to revert back to his normal self. Picking up the note with one hand, she lifted the dome shaped lid off of the breakfast platter.

_Take two. Bubblier than a muffin._

_Zane-la_

She squinted in confusion, glancing away from the note and towards the tray. A bowl full of calorie purgers and a glass of water were the only things sitting on it.

"We're not supposed to take purgers without eating, Zane-la," she said aloud. In her head, she heard a faint, _It's fine every once in a while, Tally._

A prickle of pain made it's way up her neck as she pondered on the thought. Where had she heard that before? She rubbed her neck and decided that _just this once_ would be fine, but after this time she would always eat with a purger. She popped two in her mouth, just like the note said, and gulped down some water to make them easier to swallow.

Almost as soon as she had taken the purgers, a ping from Zane came in.

"_Good morning, Tally-wa! I hope you enjoyed your breakfast. Meet me in the nearest pleasure garden when you get this."_

She smiled, excited that Zane was expressing himself to her again with these sweet gestures. "Wall? Pick me out something nice." She said as she walked towards the bathroom. "I'm going to meet my boyfriend."

-ITIKY-

Zane had been researching and planning for weeks. If Tally couldn't remember anything, _again_, he'd get her to de-Prettify her mind, _again._

It wasn't until he'd decided to visit her room in her old building that he actually came up with any ideas. And even then, it wasn't him who came up with the plan.

She had been waiting for him for four days. Well, she'd been waiting for Tally, but Zane was the next best thing, she'd said. Her name was Maddy, and she was the reason Tally couldn't remember.

The reason Tally couldn't remember _right now_.

She'd created a pill that, if taken, could destroy any lesions put in the Pretty mind during an operation. Tally and Zane had split them the first time, which resulted horribly on Zane's behalf. But by some twist of fate they were given a second chance. Because Tally had already given consent, Maddy figured if she were in her right mind she'd give consent this time, too.

So they were going to drug his girlfriend.

-ITIKY-

"Are you sure you're okay with this, Zane?" Maddy asked from across the room. Zane had programmed a ping to send to Tally when she'd taken the purgers and to alert him when she was on her way to the pleasure garden.

He sighed before turning away from the wall and facing her. "I don't like it." He paused. "You said yourself that we used these pills before and it didn't work out too great _that_ time. Why should it work differently _this_ time?" He asked, although he already knew the answer.

Maddy voiced his thoughts. "You already know why, Zane. As long as Tally takes both pills she'll be fine." She walked towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. Even though she no longer looked _exactly_ like a Middle Pretty, the calming effects the Zane always felt around them still occurred, and he found himself soothed just by her presence.

"It will work," she said with a reassuring squeeze of his shoulder.

"It has to," he replied.

-ITIKY-

The walk to the pleasure garden was very nervous-making. Zane couldn't help but shake a feeling that he was doing something other-him and other-Tally wouldn't like.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "It'll work, it'll work, it'll work." He repeated this mantra all the way to the garden, where Tally was waiting for him with a smile and a kiss.

"Hi, Zane-la," she said warmly. "What was up with your bogus breakfast idea?" She asked with a chuckle.

Zane forced himself to smile and laugh with her. "Don't you feel bubblier, Tally-wa?" He asked cheekily, knowing that she liked his behavior.

She nudged his shoulder playfully and laughed again. It lit up Zane's insides like the fireworks that other Pretties launched off of party spires every night. "I do," she said before noticing his basket. "But it is _very_ happy-making to see that you brought me actual food," she said with another chuckle.

Zane laughed again, this time without forcing himself to. Even if Tally was a complete bubblehead right now, she could always make him laugh.

"Well," he paused. "We don't have to eat right away…" he trailed off. Tally tilted her head to the side in confusion. Zane couldn't help but laugh. "We _are_ in a pleasure garden after all, Tally-wa."

Tally's eyes lit up and she smiled before leaning towards him, happy that he was invested in their relationship again. She felt the slightest sense of unease at the fact that he was opening up to her so quickly after being so cold for the past few weeks, but all her worries melted away the moment his lips pressed against her own.

-ITIKY-

Tally was curled up under Zane's arm, her head resting on his shoulder. She sighed contently before looking up at him. He was watching the clouds roll over the rest of the garden with the slightest ghost of a smile on his lips. She couldn't resist herself and reached up to trace his mouth softly with her hand.

Zane looked down at the girl next to him. _Can I really drug her?_ He thought to himself. _Can I rob her of her choice in the matter?_ He sighed, but it sounded happier than he felt.

"What are you thinking about, Zane-la?" Tally asked him. Her eyes were tinted dark blue; different from the carefree green he was so used to.

"What does dark blue mean?" He asked, ignoring her question. She furrowed her brows in confusion and he laughed. "Your eyes, Tally-wa. They're dark blue." She blinked a few times trying to remember all the hues before her eyes widened and she buried her face in his chest.

Zane chuckled again before using his finger to coax her head up until she was facing him. "What does it mean, Tally?" He asked, gentler this time.

She blushed. "I…it means love, Zane-la."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Tally-wa. I love you, too."

She smiled up at him again, content, before placing her head back on his shoulder. They watched the clouds together in silence for a while before Tally's stomach grumbled and she remembered the basket.

"Zane? I think it's time for actual food now," she said with a chuckle. Zane placed a kiss on her temple before reaching over towards the basket. His fingers brushed over the vial with the two pills in it and he froze. How had he forgotten? That was the whole point of coming here.

"Zane?" Tally asked again. She sat up and looked over at him. "Is everything okay?"

It was now or never. Zane had never been so conflicted in his whole life. Obviously it was possible for him to love Tally when she was a bubblehead, but would he eventually revert to his old bubbleheaded self? Was it worth it, risking her brain just so he could have the old Tally back? Was he really that selfish?

"Zane-la! Quit being so bogus, it's very unhappy-making," Tally pouted. He looked back at her and saw her eyes shifting to a flat red-orange. That seemed to flip a switch in his brain. _His_ Tally would never get annoyed with him. She loved him and was patient with him with whatever he needed. He had to do it.

"Sorry, Tally-wa. I couldn't decide what I wanted." He said just to calm her down. Her facial expressions flipped in an instant from annoyance to peaceful. It sickened him.

"Well, what did you bring?" She asked, leaning over to peer into the basket.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Zane said a little too quickly. "It's a surprise," he said with a wink, recovering smoothly.

"Ooh, I love surprises! How bubbly-making," she said, relaxing back against the tree they were under. "Well, hurry up!" She said with a laugh. "I don't know how much longer I can wait!" His heart broke for her. This wasn't the girl he loved. He needed to fix her.

-ITIKY-

After a very filling meal, Zane decided to put his plan into action. He emptied the vial into his hand and held it out to Tally.

"Here's your purgers, Tally-wa." He said as he took two actual purgers himself.

She eyed the pills in his hand before shaking her head. "I already took those two this morning, Zane-la. I don't want to push it."

He had to force his expression into a teasing one. "Tally-wa, I do that all the time. It's just a way to keep the world bubblier. There's no harm in it!" He smiled. She looked at the pills again, a little less wary this time.

"I don't know, Zane-la. There's just something about them that's…bogus to me. Can't you see it?"

He held back an eye-roll and picked one up, pretending to inspect it. "I think they're just newer, Nose." He paused, still fake-examining the pill. "I just took two, and I'm fine."

She looked him up and down before finally holding out her hand. "Alright, if you're sure…" she trailed off. She popped both pills in her mouth and swallowed. Zane breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay, Zane-la? You're acting kind of we– " she broke off as she lost consciousness. The last thing she thought she heard was Zane, screaming her name.

**I know, it's been a while, and I'm sorry. I just wasn't inspired at all. Then I sat down a few nights ago and forced out the first half of this, but the second half was just begging to be written down. I hope you liked it! And yes, they totally boned in the pleasure garden.**


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